The desire to have hair retain a particular style is widely held. Style retention is generally accomplished by application of either permanent chemical alteration products or temporary styling products. A permanent chemical alteration product, which is commonly referred to as a "hair perm," typically involves treating the hair with various sulfur-containing compounds in order to break the disulfie bends in the hair fibers, thereby enabling one to alter the shape and orientation of the hair fibers. However, hair perm products have the disadvantage of being harsh and damaging to the hair, and of being long-lasting and difficult to reverse. Conversely, temporary styling products generally do not break the chemical bends in the hair fibers. These temporary styling products typically are in the form of gels, lotions, mousses, or sprays containing polymeric resins or gums for coating the hair fibers and bending them together. Many temporary styling products are inconvenient to use and have the disadvantage of not allowing one to readily restyle the hair after the initial application and styling is completed, without further application of additional product. It would be preferable to deliver styling and hold benefits from rinse-off products such as conditioners and shampoos. These types of rinse-off products, however, require styling agents that are substantive to the hair and not readily removed during the rinsing process. Especially useful styling and hold agents for rinse-off compositions are hydrophobic polymeric materials. Such hydrophobic materials, however, may cause a buildup of an unsightly visible residue on the hair with repeated usage. This residue can eventually completely surround the hair shaft and can be difficult to remove with normal shampooing. Therefore, the need exists for improved rinse-off compositions for providing temporary styling and hold of human hair without the residue and negatives often associated with such compositions.
It has surprisingly been found in the present invention that rinse-off hair care compositions comprising certain hydrophobic copolymers provide excellent temporary hair hold and style retention benefits with very low visible residue buildup on the hair. These compositions can be made in any of the conventional rinse-off forms including, but not limited to, shampoos, conditioners, mousses, gels, lotions, sprays, and the like. The compositions of the present invention provide the benefits without leaving the hair feeling stiff or sticky. Hair to which the compositions of the present invention have been applied can be restyled several times without requiring reapplication of the compositions.
Hair care compositions containing various copolymers are well-known in the prior art. However, none of these references either teach or suggest compositions having a low visible residue on the hair. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,911, to Oppliger, issued Sept. 28, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,902, to Fridd et at, issued Jul. 22, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,161, to Kollmeier et at., issued Mar. 31, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,609, to Bolich hr. et al., issued Apr. 21, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,935, to Mazurek, issued Sept. 15, 1987, European Patent Application No. 412,704, to Bolich et at., published Feb. 2, 1991.
The compositions of the present invention comprise a hydrophobic copolymer component and a carrier suitable for application to the hair, wherein the hydrophobic copolymer component further comprises a hydrophobic copolymer and a volatile, hydrophobic solvent.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide rinse-off compositions which are useful for styling and holding the hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide compositions which are useful for providing a temporary hold and styling benefit for hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide compositions which do not leave a visible residue on the hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods for styling and holding the hair.
These and other objects will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows.